And in an attempt to do something non-work related in my
copious spare time I decided to scrounge the Internet for
VR backhoe/excavator simulators (partly inspired by my
sudden urge to knock dhd's house down).

And you know what? They all suck. We're not only
talking minor annoyances here or sporadic design goofs. No,
no. These wonderful products are fundamentally
flawed. Clearly designed by people who: 1. Have never
operated a backhoe, 2. Didn't even bother to go read the
specs.

Not only are the controls inherently wrong. Arm, stick and
bucket
movements are restricted in the weirdest ways. I can't
believe it. There are plenty of
spec sheets available on www.jcb.co.uk, www.deere.com,
www.caseih.com, etc.